Centenarian Facebook User Adds a Few Wrinkles to Site
At age 105, Edythe Kirchmaier is Facebook's oldest registered user.
Kirchmaier, who is also California's oldest licensed driver and the
University of Chicago's oldest living former student, joined Facebook
last month. Direct Relief, a medical aid charity where she's volunteered for 40 years, set up the account in honor of her 105th birthday.
"I've been contacted by such wonderful people and received such nice
messages and pictures from people all over the world," Kirchmaier said.
"I'm so humbled by all the interest in me."
Born into the age of telegraphs and rotary dial telephones, Kirchmaier
said she embraces social media because it allows her to check in daily
with friends and family. She said she's especially interested to see how
many people log on to light a virtual candle in her honor, a symbol
they've liked the fan page of Direct Relief.
"I'm hoping to get 105,000 likes for the page," she said.
The page currently has 77,000-plus likes.
Kirchmaier herself already has more than 20,000 Facebook friends. She
lists the University of Chicago, the actress Jane Lynch and the
Cheesecake Factory among her "likes." Pokes don't seem to be her thing.
While the centenarian said she cherishes her Facebook relationships, she
still believes in the power of the pen. Every Tuesday she heads over
to Direct Relief's offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., to hand-write
thank-you letters to the charity's donors.
"She physically writes the letters herself, and I think her handwriting
is better than mine," noted Hannah Rael, a media relations associate for
the charity.
Seniors 'Friend' to the End
While Kirchmaier is the oldest person on Facebook, she is hardly the
only senior to embrace social media. The social site's demographics have
grown steadily grayer over the past few years.
Retirees age 65 and older are the fastest-growing group of social
networkers on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, according
to a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life
Project. The report found that 40 percent of Internet users older than
65 use Facebook, up 150 percent since 2009.
Golden-agers are also signing onto Twitter in record numbers. In 2009,
only 5 percent of Internet users in the 50 to 64 age bracket had used
Twitter, or some other status-update service. It's now up to 11 percent.
Kirchmaier said she didn't yet have a Twitter account but finds the idea of communicating in 140 characters or less intriguing.
"I just may give it a try," she said.
Seniors log on to social media to stay in touch, reconnect with people
from their past and seek support for chronic health conditions, the Pew
report found. A University of Alabama at Birmingham study suggested that
Internet use was associated with a 30 percent decrease in depressive
symptoms among older adults who used it regularly.
"One of the greatest benefits of social media for older people is
learning they're not alone," said Kristi Grigsby, director of
communications for the website ageingcare.com. "It helps them focus their attention on something other than being old."
"This is how I keep in touch with friends, children and grandchildren.
... I enjoy just checking Facebook every day and seeing the pictures
that have been added and reading some of the messages. ... I still
exchange emails with my high school friends and some of my former
students. ... It keeps me from getting lonely," wrote one 85-year-old on
an Aging Care forum.
Another Aging Care user suggested that senior social networkers equip
themselves with assistive technology, such as large print keyboards and
accessibility settings to make it easier to get online and stay
connected. But Joe Buckheit, Aging Care's president, warned about the
potential danger for seniors who cruise social sites: They're frequently
targeted by "granny scammers," con artists who've caught onto the fact
that older folks are flocking to social media to share details about
their personal lives.
A common "granny scam" is "the relative in distress": A thief grabs
personal information from an elderly person's Facebook page, then phones
the person masquerading as a loved one who's gotten into an accident
and is in dire need of cash. The Federal Trade Commission reported that
60,000 complaints about this type of fraud were filed last year.
To protect elders, Buckheit advised making sure they are aware of the
scam. Instruct them to ask detailed personal questions if they get a
call from a panicked relative and to hang up and call the relative back
on a known number. They need to verify the information with another
relative. If the caller says to keep it a secret, that's a red flag.
If they've already fallen prey to a scam, Buckheit said to stop payment
on any checks or wire transfers immediately and contact both the police
and the three credit bureaus to let them know there's been a possible
crime committed.
Tenn. man quits job after '666' stamped on W-2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee maintenance worker says he quit his
job because his W-2 tax form was stamped with the number 666.
Walter Slonopas told The Tennessean
that accepting the number would have condemned his soul to hell. That
number is considered the "mark of the beast" in the Bible's Book of
Revelation describing the apocalypse.
The company that handles payroll for Contech Casting LLC says the number meant Slonopas' form was the 666th one mailed out.
The 52-year-old Slonopas says he had trouble with the number before. He
was supposed to be assigned No. 668 to use when he clocked in. Because
of a mix-up, he was assigned 666. He complained and got a new number.
A company spokesman says Contech would send a new W-2 and wants to
rehire Slonopas. But Slonopas says "God is worth more than money."
Rent-a-Boyfriend" Service Popping Up in China
A company in China is now selling fake boyfriends for those women who
are returning home for the Lunar New Year holiday and want to avoid
being nagged by parents about finding a partner.
It's not just for the holiday, but Lunar New Year is
expected to be the company's busiest time, as this is a day where young
people are expected to visit their family members.
"Young people both want to go home yet are afraid to go
home," said Meng Guangyong, 29, owner of the boyfriend-broker business.
"If they haven't found a partner yet, when they go home parents will nag
them or send them on blind dates or find someone to introduce them to
people."
While selling kisses, affection, and dates does not seem
to be very family-oriented, the service actually helps young singles
address traditional values like respecting their elders and meeting
their demand to find a mate.
An ad for the site reads: "Not getting any younger and
still dreading facing the nagging parents? Need a boyfriend to face the
family? Your parents worked so hard to raise you, bringing a boyfriend
home is the best way to repay them."
Finding love in the highly populated country has grown
more difficult as many young people are working long hours, leaving
their stable hometowns for bigger cities, and living among strangers.
As the economy has grown over the last few decades, so have the expectations for marital partners.
Men are struggling to provide the things they are expected to provide in a marriage, like a house, a car, and a good job.
These difficulties result in many young women being called
"shengnu," or "leftover women," after they turn 27 and are still
single.
"It's not like in the West where the individual is very
independent, and their love life has nothing to do with their parents,"
Guangyong said. "China cares more about the family point of view.
Parents must be made happy."
People interested in getting a fake boyfriend can purchase
a whole package for 1,000 yuan, which includes chatting, eating a meal,
and talking to elders.
For an extra fee, the fake boyfriend will hold hands, hug and kiss.
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